Activision Blizzard's revenue numbers were down compared to last year, but the company still announced "better-than-expected" financial results for Q1 2012. For the quarter ended March 31, 2012, Activision Blizzard's net revenues were $1.17 billion, compared to $1.45 for the first quarter of 2011.

Activision Blizzard's Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick attributes the "better-than-expected" first-quarter performance to the globalm consumer demand for blockbuster titles like Skylanders Spyro's Adventures, World of Warcraft, and the Call of Duty franchise which now has approximately 40 million monthly active users as of March 31, 2012.

2011's Modern Warfare 3 played a big part in the company's profits, breaking previous sales records set by Black Ops. As of March 31, 2012 Call of Duty players have logged more than 1.6 billion hours of online gameplay in Modern Warfare 3, Kotick revealed.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 finished the first quarter as one of Activision's two top-10 PC titles in North America and Europe.

Additionally, Activision Publishing's Call of Duty Elite service is continuing to grow and currently has more than 10 million registered users including more than two million annual premium members, an increase of approximately 33% from January 21, 2012.

Matt Liebl
You can follow Senior News Editor Matt Liebl on Twitter @Matt_GZ. He likes games, sports, musicals, and his adorable dog, Wrigley, and his wife.